Ironing roll and pad



Nov. 1, 1932. A. H. ADAMS 1,885,211

IRONING ROLL AND PAD Filed April 13, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 lllllllllllllllI/A QQQ 76 1 i ARTHUR H. ADAMS BY W ATTORNEY Nov. 1, 1932. A. H. ADAMS 1,885,211

IRONING ROLL AND PAD Filed April 15, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ARTHUR H. PSPHMS INVENTOR BY 67M MM ATTORNEY springs arranged with their axes'parallel Patented Nov. 1, 1932 "UNITED STATES ARTHnn H. AiJAMs, or LA GRANGE, 'ILLINOISASSIGNOR *ro TRoY LAU DRY MACHIN- EnY ooMrAnY, 1nd,. ornn'w: YORK; 1v. rye CORPORATION or DELAWARE momma not]; am: PAD:

Application and April 13,1

This invention relates to laundry appa ratus, and in particularto resiliently padded surfaces such as ironing. rolls, pressing bucks,etc.- A g It is an. object of the invention to provide an improved resiliently padded ironing.ele-. ment which is economical to 'ma nufacture efficient in operation, and is not deleteriously. affected by moisture from the garmentsbeing 1; ironed. V i 1 The invention is in the nature .oftan improvement on thetype of paddedelement disclosed in my 'copending applcation Serial- No, 245,180, filed January 7 1928.]v 'There is, 15, described in said, application an ironing roll,- comprising a non-absorbent resilient p'ad-j ding supported on a perforated cylindricalbase which permits, with some limitation the passage of steam or water vaporf-there- 2a through. It is an objectofthisinvention to provide a skeleton, base or support for, spring padding which reduces to a minimum the obstruction to the passage of: steam there through V J V A feature ofthe invention relates to, an open work ironing base of grate-likeform' which offers little obstruction to the passage of steam or vapor therethrough and yet is sufficiently strong to support a resilientpadding and to effect the ironing operation. I

Another feature pertains to a spring pad-1 ding wherein one or a plurality of convo-' luted springs are wrapped circumferentially around an ironing roll of theopen-worki such as a finely woven wire mesh cloth;

A further feature pertains to a spring padding for an ironing roll or pressing '-bu'ck comprising a. series of convoluted skewed N to one another, adjacent springs being wound in opposite direct ons and overlapping to provide a substantially flat uniformsurface.

Another feature resides in the manner of vmounting a spring padding on a, grate like 1928. Serial Nb. 269,852. 1

base and1;a1so to themanner of attaching said o padding to the base.

Astilllfurther featurepertains to a re- 'siliently padded pressing buck which, because 'of, the structure of the padding, effects a wiping pressure "on the garments when the press is closed. 3

Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent after a considera-v j tion of the following description and the appended claims.

,For the purposeof-enabling a clear under-1'. I

'standing-tobe attained of one mode of prac v tisingthe invention the same will be disclosed inconnection withan ironi'ng machine of the jrotating roll type, but it willbe understood that. it is capable ofapplication to ironing or pressing machines generally wherein an iron- 1 ing orpressing surface, is provided with a re.-

silient padding. Accordingly; I

. Fig 1 of-the drawings shows a portion of an ironing, roll constructed in accordance 'withltheinvention andprovided with a resilient padding according to the invention.

,Fig. 2 isan end view Y roll-shown in Fig. 1

Fig. '3 is; adetailview showing. an alternative formof padding employing a plurality of separate convoluted springs and the man-- ner of supporting andtpositioning adjacent springs,v I i I V Fig. 4 is another embodiment employing a plurality of superimposed layers of resilient elements onthe open-work roll. 5 w Fig. 5 is another view of the portion of roll and padding shown in Fig. (l. i y

Figs. 6 and 7 {are views of another embodiment of. the invention showing a resilient padding composed of a plurality of adjacent alternateright andfleft-hand springs mounted. in over-lapping relation on the open-work base. r 'J I Figsp8 and9 are details illustratingthe manner in'whichthe garment supporting surface ofthe spring padding is displacedlaterally when the padding is compressed. F1g.;;10 is a view of a portion ofa press em-f ploying an open-work, base, and skewed spring padding according to the invention;

Fig. 11 is {an alternative 7 manner of sup.-

, in elevation. of the.

U ti

provided with a thoroughly pervious or nonabsorbent resilient padding enables damp garments to be continuously ironed without the moisture from the garments affecting the resiliency of the padding proper, or interfering with the proper ironing of said garments. While pervious resilient paddings are known to theart, it has been found that unless the base or roll upon which the pad is'mounted is of the same degree of perviousness, the efficiency, of ironing is materially reduced. The present invention overcomes this disadvantage by employing a skeleton-like padsupporting base which has a maximum of perviousness. H

Referring particularly to Fig. 1, which shows a portion of an ironing roll sufficient to enable an understanding of the invention to be attained, it will be seen that the skeleton roll is in the form of an elongated wheellike structure comprising a longitudinal hub 1 which is securely attached to theshaft 2 in any appropriate manner for rotation therewith, shaft 2 being connected to asource of motive power for rotating it at the required rate. Extending radially from the hub 1 and fastened thereto in any convenient manner are a plurality of pad supporting frames or fins 3. In this connection it may be noted that the fins 3 and hub 1 may takethe form of plates welded to a heavy tube or of a single casting of metal. However, it is understood that for this purpose any suitable construction of metal or other material may be employed instead of welded or cast metal.

For the purpose of supporting the'roll covering in the spaces between adjacent fins, there are wound helica-lly around the fins 3 in double screw thread fashion strips 4: of suitable material, such as Wire or fiat metal strip which is fastened at both ends in any convenient manner to prevent unwinding. As shown, the strips 4 are prevented from lateral displacement by being seated in notches 5, in members 3, which notches are arranged in helically staggered fashion. The resilient padding comprises a convoluted spring 6 of the type disclosed in copending application Serial No. 245,180 hereinabove referred to, said spring having the individual turns thereof permanently skewed at an angle to the axis of the spring. This skewed spring is wrapped around the roll frame work in the grooves formed by adjacent turns of the strips 4, with the spring turns slanting in a direction opposite to that in which the roll rotates, it being understood that the spring is appropriately fastened at both ends to prevent unwinding. As indicated by the numeral-7, one or more layers of finely woven Wire mesh cloth are wrapped around the spring padding 6 with the ends of the cloth fastened, preferably in the manner disclosed 1n the application hereinabove referred to, to whlch reference may also be had for the preferred form of metal mesh covering to be" used. If desired, the ends of the mesh covermg 7 may beclamped to the skeleton roll by the overturned edges of the end closlng plates 9. In order to prevent creeping of the spring 6 relative to the members 4, these latter members may have thenedges roughened or corrugated, and a continuous wire 10 may be' hard objects: such as buttons or the like through the ironer.

From the foregoing description, it will be seen that,dueto the complete open-Work structure of the skeleton roll and the character of the resilient padding, any steam which is driven from the garments being ironed finds a substantially unobstructed path into'the interior of the roll and has very little or no tendency to condense within the body of the padding. This tendency to condense is further reduced by the fact that the padding is substantially all metal and is capable of conducting suificient heat from the steam chest surface, represented in Fig. 2, schematically by the numeral 3, to vaporize any moisture that may find its way into the body of the padding. In this connection it may be noted that while any well known form of steam chest may be employed, it is preferable to use the type disclosed in application Serial No. 249,683 filed January 26-, 1928. After prolonged. use, the interior of the roll may become filled with a body of steam which will also serve to maintain the temperature of the padding sufficiently high to prevent condensation.

Fig. 3 shows an alternative embodiment in which the spring padding, instead o" taking the form of a single convoluted spring helically wound around the roll, comprises a plurality of separate convoluted springs 12, 13, etc. wound around the roll parallel to one another and supported and separated by the Figs. 4 and 5show an alternative embodi s ment in which the resilient padding'comprises a pluralityof alternate-layers of convoluted skewed springs 16and 17 and-mesh: covering 18. As'shown in theend view of: Fig. '5, the alternate layers of springsare ar-i ranged so that the spring turns are inclined in opposite directions Either the arrange ment disclosed in Fig. 1or that disclosed in Fig. 3 may be employed as faras the constitution of thespring .padis concerned; that is,

" the padding layersof Figs; 4; and 5 may 0011- sist of a single helically wrapped'spring or a plurality of adjacent parallel springs.

It will also be noted that the springs are braced against each other'by having each convolution of spring 17 supported by two adjacent convolutions of spring 16 as indicated bythe numerals 19 and 20,, By this arrange-i ment, when a pressure is applied to the covering 18, due to the skewed character of spring- 17, the said covering wouldnormally be com-' pressed downwardly toward the right as represented by the dotted arrow. 'However, due to the bracing of the spring 17 against spring 16, this compressive force is also transmitted to the supporting convolutions of the latter,

spring, causing them to move in the direction of the solid arrow. The result of this com-- bined angular compress on of springs 17 and 16 is that the covering 18 instead of moving downwardly at an angle and thus efi'ecting a wiping action on the garments, is caused to move downwardly substantially in the direction'of the vertical arrow. Thisfequalizingi effect, of course, results from the factthat springs 16. and 17 are normally'skewed'to,

equal degrees, but in opposite directions The schematic representation of Fig. 12 it is be; lieved will render thisequalizing action clear. The upper portion of this. figure shows a single skewed spring convolution 21 which issupported by the convolutions 22and 23 of another :oppo-sitelyskewed spring, both-of whichare supported on base 24 'to which the. convolutions 22 and 23 are fastened. The; covering 25 in the normal positions of the spring convolutions is separated a distance .a from the base 2 1. hen pressure is applied to the covering 25 the convolutions 21,

22 and 23 act as a sort of toggle oint with the result that the covering moves downwardly; to the position shown in the lower portion of: Fig. 12 so that any given point p for err-'- ample, of the depressed coveringis not given 1 any substantial lateral displacement.

Referring to Figs. 6 and 7, there i's shown localized area lsEthle same timedisplaced laterally a disanother embodiment of :the invention in whichthepad base comprisesa lattice-likestructure -26-'preferably Jinthe form of a metalv plate; "However, it will be understood that a coarse wliremesh structure may be employed time is sufiiciently strong to support the goods underv pressure without permanent deformation. 'As shown clearly in Fig, 6, there is comprising a alternate leftland rig t-hand springs 27,28, 29, etc.=,all.of which are skewed in the same direction; "Theri'ght-hand wound springs 27 and 29"arein over lapping ,ar-'

mounted upon the base 26. f spring adding I rangement as indicated by the numeral 30 and a's described in connection with Figs. 1 to 1 to provide a uniform supporting surface for the covering 29. In order to still further v insure the uniformity of this surface, the left hand wound spring 28 overlaps the adjacent right-hand springs 27, 29. This overlapping oflboth the right-hand springs with .each other and .with theintermediate left-hand spring can be. readily} effected; since all the springs are skewed at thesame angle and are normally separated sufficiently to provide the requisite overlappingv clearance. The springs are'seated within the openings 31 in base26 and are supported by the longitudinally'extending ribs 32 which are preferably roughcnedto prevent creep ofthe springs there.-

oyer; For the purpose of securely fastening the:-springs2 7,28, 29, etc'.- to the "base 26, a

wireor cord 33 is threaded through the convolutions and passes'under the cross-ribs 34. A structure such as disclosed in Figs. 6 and 7 is particularly well suited for the bucks of pressing machines, as the base '26 may be provided at its edges with suitable lugs.;35, 36

whereby itmay be replaceably fastened to the: fixed buck: support,'thus enabling the padded baseto beconve'niently mounted and removed I for repair, replacement or other similar purpose. v y

Th action. of the-spring padding shown in-Figs fiand'i', when subjected to pressure is. such that-the covering 29 is given a lateral displacement at the same time that it is being compressed. This condition is represented diagrammatically in Figs. 8 and 9. Fig. 8 shows a portion of the lattice-like base26 andi-alength of skewed spring 37 which is fastened to the base'by the wire 33 or its equivalent. Considering this spring to support alocalized area bi of the'cover'ing 29, will be seen that normally this area is separated from .thebase36 by the width of the spring"c'i WVhcn' a'pressure-is applied to covering 29,.the spring assumes a shape similar to that shown in Fig; 9 whereby' the b-ap'proaches the base 26 and I action on the garments simultaneous with the requisite squeeze on the garments.

the pressure. A portion of a pressing machine embodying this wiping feature is shown in Fig. 10 wherein the numeral 38 represents the movable buck or head of any well known type of "arment press which is adapted to be lowered under pressure against the fixed buck represented generally by the numeral 39. As shown in this figure buck 39 comprises a casting 40 having an open-Work face which may be similar to the lattice-like structure 26 of Figs. 6 and 7. Mounted upon the face 41 is a skewed spring resilient padding 4-2, which is preferably of the type shown in Figs. 6 and 7. The covering-4.3 preferably of fine-wire mesh cloth is supportedby the padding 1-2 and is fastened around the edges of the buck in any suitable manner. The garments to be pressed are placed upon the lower buck 39 and the head 38 is lowered by hand or by suitable power mechanism to give As the head takes up on the garments the padding a2 is compressed and displaced later ally in the direction of the arrow, causing a wiping action between the upper surface of the garment and the face of head 38, thus imparting a gloss or finish to the proper-side of the garment.

Referring to Fig. 11, there is shown an alternative form of skeleton frame for an ironing roll in which the fins 44: are preferably cast with the notched lugs 45, around and through whlch passes a strong round Wire 46 for supporting the spring padding 1n the spaces between the fins.

While only certain modifications have been shown. others will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and it is to be understoodthat the character of the invention is to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.

It will be noted that the radially extending fins 3 and the helically wound strips 4 constitute a skeleton-like roll having a grate-like outer surface. The expressions skeleton 4 roll? and grate-like surface as used in the claims are intended to cover such construction and its equivalents.

What I claim is: 1. In a laundry ironing machine, a roll comprising a plurality of longitudinally experipherally disposed members.

2. In a laundry ironing machine, a roll comprising a hub, a plurality of supporting members projecting radially from said hub and extending longitudinally of the axis thereof and having notches formed in their outer edges, a wire helically wound around;

said members in said notches to provide a plurality of spaced members encircling the hub in substantial parallelism'and supported by said radial members, a coiled spring wrapped helically around the outer surface of said roll and restingvupon the spaced wire members, and a metallic covering wrapped around and covering said coiled spring.

3. In a laundry ironing machine, a roll comprising a hub, a plurality of supporting members projecting radially from said hub and extending longitudinally of the axis thereof. a metal strip helically wound around said members to provide a plurality of spaced members encircling the hub in substantial parallelism and supported by said radial members, and a coiled spring wrapped l1elically around the periphery of said roll and resting upon the spaced members.

4;. In a laundry ironing machine, a roll comprising a hub, a plurality of supporting members projecting radially from said hub and extending longitudinally of the axis thereof, a metal strip helically woundaround said members to provide a plurality of spaced members encircling the hub in substantial parallelism and supported by said radial members, and a spring padding secured to the outer surface of said roll.

5. In a laundry ironing-machine, a roll comprising a hub, a plurality of supporting members projecting radially from said hub and extending longitudinally of the axis thereof, a metal strip helically wound around said members to provide a plurality of spaced members encircling the hub in substantial parallelism and supported by said radial members, and a resilient metal padding secured to the outer surface of said roll.

6. In a laundry ironing machine, a roll comprising a hub, a plurality of supporting members projecting radially from said hub and extending longitudinally of the axis thereof, spaced members in contact with the outer extremities of said radial membersand bridging the intervals therebetween to provide a. grate-like surface forthe roll, and a resilient padding secured to the outer surface of the roll. V

7. In a laundry ironing machine, a roll comprising a hub, a plurality of supporting members projecting radially from said hub and extending longitudinally of the axis thereof, and spaced. members in contact with the outer extren'iities of said radial members and bridging the intervals therebetween to spring Wound around'said grate-like surface 'to form a helix of the same pitch as the pitch' of said helically Wound member.

9. In a laundry ironing machine,.a roll I comprising a hub, a plurality of supporting membersprojecting radially from said hub and extending longitudinally of the axis thereof, and a member ,WOI1I1d helically around said radial supporting members with the convolutions of the helix spacedin sub- 7 v stantial parallelism to provide With said radial supporting members a grate-like surface for the roll.

10. In a laundry ironing machine, a roll having a hub, a plurality of supporting members projecting radially from said hub and extending longitudially of the axis thereof, means encircling the hub and Wound helically around the radial members to form a supporting surface, and a coiled spring Wound aroundsaid supporting surface to form a f helix of the same pitch as that of said means, with the convolutions of the helix interposedbetween the corresponding turns of said means so as to be supported thereby, the pitch of the helix being such that the turns of the V coiled spring forming adjacent convolutionsj of the helix overlap at their edges.

11. In a laundry ironing mach1ne,'a roll having a hub, a plurality of supportingfmembers prqectmg radially therefrom and extending longitudinally of the axis thereof, means GilOlICllIlQIJSEIld hubgand Wound hellcally around said radial members to form a supporting surface, and a coiled spring Wound helically around said supporting surface so as to form a helix of thesame pitch as said means, With the center 11ne of said coiled spring interposed between corresponding turns of said means.

In testimony whereof, I have s gned my name to this spec fication this 9th day of April, 1928.

r p v ARTHUR H. ADAMS. 

